Engine starting mechanism



Nov. 21, 1933 DRAVER ENGINE STARTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 11, i950 'lllllllllllll IV INVENTOR Em Z2 18. flm rfK 4f ATTEJRN Y ?e%em$e New 21 1933 geeenzee ENGINE @MLEWEG MEN Emvee, Efiehmem'z', 331ml, may in mmem Gemmfiiem, East 8mm ND 5!. a: eemen'afiem M New gemey 1111; 1939 fiemiml Ne, 5631568353 32 {em 24 1 m n relates ice exmine maxi-3mg engine sis-wise? u fer m1 metive ver e i airplane it is epplieanie l air and m mmi *Wem'ten is ie pre he weigizzi; i zhe ex gravity,

the fie'rege 1 eembmz'ng in a novel neiziem e1? ewe em e30 fer eutemetive we Quasi-red am? centrelledzas te EL-e fleeing nermeily 2e :2 eke e; wee mvemien is be m'ovlde g; meeheniem he rlm a M MI wane-steel the a 520mm ef the x2e esseciabec? vehie'ie whei'eby e dawn msvement ef the vehicle from its manna 111 mm pesmm eiesez' t0 the grown 'bhreugis. emit-able geotian u'ensletmg ecticn the movement for of invent-10m is fie pmzide eeserber ef the ehm'acter abeve de= V121" novel waltz-0i therefer per the mvemieze is ate previfie, \"Ji iv the wegeine eppedmtw, ermg" normal pressure in wit the device to pee amie eufieieni", mtetive meve 52:1 te & relefiiveisy mevemem ef the vehicle.

" eeiem-s and advantages to he fleriveel e use 0? the invention disclosed will be en en inspeeqzien of the iollewfng vehicle we the engine member epecificm'sion, reference be the eeeempeny mg drawing illustmtm me embemment mm of. it is $0 be expressly understeezi, lwwevem that said drawing is for the purpese e2 mustm tion eniy and is not to he eenswued e elefim= tion cf the limits of the inventflem, refleremce he mg had to the appended, shims i'er pm-= In we r q 1 is side elevatiem 0 an equipped apparatus emlwelymg weene L U- 111g. ,2? is m elevedfiion View at emglee the View mini. 0:? Fig. l

3 is eievetion view w? emehee emmek m.

meet 01 em phase m. the inventian.

Referrmg to the drawing, She reference 021m 1 designates the fuselage ei' an airplane having a conventienei type eff meme, as indi W eateai e18 aciapted t0 drive the prepeiiim mem her: the plane being shevm azevidesi with lending gearingincluding dieeenaihr disposed strut 5 connecting thefluselege ene ef the e, the emmsite axle meme; :Emm the for the sake 9f simmicifiy 2. pair W 01 adafifiieml suppm'ting members 8 and 2% are sham wzmectmg another martian 01 We i-Ztmeiege the hub 10 in which the axle 6 is jmmmled 021 which the wheel is mounted,

Suitable startmg mechanism 2m aver the. emnlzshefi: 0f the engine 2 en, sufiicfienfi speeal t0 permit starting thereof wider its em pewer cnmprises 25 mm driving uniu mounfised in. heme mg 13 suitably secured to e flenge fez" ed en a the ere-mkcase m the engine 2, and swimming w the usuel member edaeted be move 30115161162 mllv into engagement with. an eom'esponding member of the engine crankshaft er en entem smn me-reef and when rotate said member by M the Laensmissian of rotative farce exerted 'fnex'e= upen Waugh the mm ummmitting eemleee $310M leading from the gem W and eeez a manner well knee-m m the me, fee 2mg am part @i? the present invention except as it swepemtee with anal is egsereteci by navel 3%) means, for actuating the gear 2? new Tee de scribed.

New means fer impemmg mmfien fie the seer 2i and exerting terque iahezeen mitted tn the driving member, cemmzieee, m5

ehmm, e, trienguim' shaped eecter eiemem; having teeth 26 adapfied ta mesh with the teeth 0n gear-22?, the laifiser being drivable eesocfieted with the crankshaft of engine 2, es eheve ex plamed.

The sector is pivotally secured as shown at 28 to a member of the fuselage of the plane, the member 28 also serving for the attachment of the extension member or link 29 to the outer end of which is secured a link 30 extending downwardly for pivotal attachment as 'indicated at 32 to a suitable hub or boss 33 secured to the axle 6. From this construction it is evident that upon downward movement of the fuselage 1 relatively to the axle 6, the sector 25 and link 29 will be rotated about the pin 34 as a center and due to the engagement of teeth 26 with gear 27, the latter will be rotated through a much greater angle than that through which the sector 25 passes, the ratio of the two movements being a function of the length of the lever arm from the pivot point 34 to the gear 27.

Novel means for effecting such a downward movement of the fuselage 1 with respect to the axle 6 when it is desired to crank the engine through the driving connection above described, comprises, in the illustrated embodiment, a shock absorbing device 40-having novel control means permitting the release of all or a portion of the pressure normally obtaining therein, together with means for restoring such pressure when the engine has been started. 7

As shown the shock absorber 40 is provided with suitable ears 41 and 42 facilitating attachment to the supporting members 8 and 9, and comprises a piston or plunger member 43 having a wrist pin 44 on which is pivotally mounted a connecting rod 45 having a suitable bearing 46 on the axle 6, the upward movement of the piston 43 being normally cushioned or retarded by virtue of the provision of the chamber 47 normally containing compressed fluid, such as air, which may be maintained at the desired pressure through a suitable pressure regulating device, not shown, associated with the compressed fluid reservoir 50. Interposed between the supply lines 51 and 52 connecting the tank with the shock absorber 40 is a suitably constructed valve 53 having a port 54 communicating with the atmosphere and a suitable valve operable manually by lever 55 whereby the lines 52 may be connected alternately, and when desired, with either the supply line 51 or the exhaust 54. Suitable means, (not shown) may be provided for maintaining the desired pressure in tank 50.

During normal flight of the plane the pilot may, if he chooses, leave the valve 53 in a position to establish communication between line52 and the atmosphere, thereby permitting the shock absorber to occupy the position in which-it offers the least resistance to the air. In any event, before landing, the pilot will place the valve in a position to cut off exhaust and supply the chamber 47 with compressed fluid from the reservoir 50 so that the shock absorbing mechanism will be in condition to function as intended in absorbing the force of impact upon landing.

When it is desired to restart the engine, the

- operator shifts lever 55 so as to place the line 52 in communication with the atmosphere. This action results in a sudden release of pressure in chamber 4'7, which pressure has been holding members 8 and 9 and the. fuselage in the extreme upward position with respect to the axle 6. The release of this pressure permits a sudden descent of the fuselage due to its own weight. This sudden dropping of the body of the craft acts, as above explained to swing the sector 25 downwardly, thereby rotating gear 27, and through the speed multiplying gearing shown in Fig. 3, exerts torque upon the crank shaft to an extent suflicient to assure successful cranking of the engine 2.

There is thus provided novel engine starting meansemploying as the motive power the weight of the engine and vehicle, and eliminating the necessity of the use of an electric prime mover or other usual energy supplying device. There is further provided a novel combination of engine starting and shock absorbing mechanism possessing obvious features of advantage and extending the usefulness of these elements to the machine.

It is to be understood that the invention may be embodied in various constructions differing from that illustrated herein, but nevertheless employing the novel principles, and features herein disclosed. Thus, for example, other means may be employed. for relieving the pressure which normally supports the fuselage in its upper position and instead of using a single displace-able fluid as a shock absorbing medium the shock absorber may operate with a combination of substances such as both air and liquid, as indicated in Fig. 3, and other resilient or compressible members may be employed. As shown, in Fig. 3 there is a further variation in the shock absorbing structure in that the upwardly moving element 43a is arranged to envelop the relatively stationary element 57 rather than slide within said element in the manner of operation of the piston 43 shown in Fig. 1. Moreover, in the form shown in Fig. 3, the turning of valve 53a to relieve the air pressure in the shock absorber does not affect the maintenance of a certain amount of pressure in the chamber 47a, due to the provis." on of the non-escaping liquid. Hence in this embodiment of the invention there is only a partial, rather than a complete loss of pressure as a condition precedent to the downward movement of the vehicle which produces the cranking action.

Likewise other changes which will now suggest themselves to those skilled in the art may be made in the form, details of construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein, and reference is therefore to be had to the appended claims for a definition of such scope.

What is claimed is:

1. In an engine starter for use in cranking the engine of an airplane or other automotive vehicle, in combination with a driving member adapted to engage and rotate a member of the engine to be started, avehicle supporting member, means for moving said vehicle supporting member vertically to raise the vehicle solely by the pressure thus exerted upon said supporting member, and means operable by the release of said pressure'and the resultant descent of the vehicle to actuate said driving member to start the engine.

2. In a combined engine starting and shock absorbing system for automotive vehicles, in combination with a driving member adapted to crank a member of the engine to be started, means for connecting said driving member for driving movement in response to bodily descent of the associated vehicle, a shock absorbing device for controlling such bodily descent, fluid means in said device normally under pressure and operative to retard and cushion said descent, and means for releasing the pressure in said fluid means to permjt a descent of the vehicle with suflicient rapidity to crank the engine through the intermediary of said driving member.

3. In a combined engine startingand shock absorbing system for automotive vehicles, in combination with a driving member adapted to crank a member of the engine to be started, means for connecting said driving member for driving movement in response to bodily descent of the associated vehicle, a shock absorbing device for controlling such bodily descent, fluid means in said device normally under pressure and operative to retard and cushion said descent, means for releasing the pressure in said fluid means to permit a descent of the vehicle with sufiicient rapidity to crank the engine through the intermediary of said driving member, and means operable by said engine to re-energize said retarding and cushioning means to again render said shock absorbing device effective to perform its normal function.

4. In an engine starter for use in cranking the engine of an airplane or other automotive v e hicle, in combination with a driving member adapted to engage and rotate a member of the engine to be started, a supporting device mounted between the body of the vehicle and one of its axles and normally effective to hold the body of said vehicle at a predetermined distance above said axle in opposition to the force of gravity, means for rendering said supporting device ineffective, thereby causing a relatively rapid descent of said body toward said axle, and means for translating the downward motion of said body into a cranking motion of said drivin member.

5. In an engine starter for use in cranking the engine of an airplane or other automotive vehicle, in combination with a driving member adapted to engage and rotate a member of the engine to be started, a supporting device mounted between the body of the vehicle and one of its axles, and normally efiective to holdthe body of said vehicle at a predetermined distance above said axle in opposition to the force of gravity, means for rendering said supporting device inefiective, thereby causing a relatively rapid de-- scent of said body toward said axle, means for translating the downward motion of said body into a cranking motion of said driving member, said means comprising a link mechanism con necting saiddriving member to said axle, and means for pivotaily securing said link mechanism to said body at a point intermediate said axle and driving member.

6. In combination with a shock 'absorber adapted to be mounted on the landing gear of an airplane and comprising fluidpressure means normally acting to maintain the body of the plane at a predetermined height above said landing gear, means for rendering said fluid pressuremeans temporarily ineflec'tive, said means being manually operable when it is desired to crank the engine of the plane, and means operating in response to the manual operation of said last named means to transmit the force of the resulting downward movement of the vehicle to a member or the engine to be started whereby said engine member is rotated to crank the engine.

sponse to the manual operation of said pressure relieving means to transmit the force of the resulting downward movement of the vehicle to a member of the engine to be started whereby saidengine member is rotated to crank the engine.

8. In an engine propelled vehicle in combination with a member of the engine to be started, a driven member adapted for engagement with the engine member, means normally maintaining the vehicle in a predetermined position relative to a datum plane, said means constituting a part of the permanent supporting means for the vehicle body, means for lowering said body to a posi- 'tionnearer said datum plane, and means operable by the lowering movement of thebody for actuating said driven member.

9. In combination with an engine and a supporting body therefor; means for maintaining a regulable pressure on said supporting body and means operatively connected to the body and engine and actuated by a decrease in the sustaining pressure for cranking said engine.

10. In combination with an automotive engine and its associated vehicle, releasable fluid means for supporting said vehicle, and means operable upon the release of said supporting means to exert a cranking torque on a rotatable member of said engine.

11. In an engine starter for use in cranking the engine of an airplane or other automotive vehicle, in combination with a driving member adapted to engage and rotate a member of the engine to be started, a fluid containing device mounted between the body of the vehicle and one of its axles to hold the body of said vehicle. at a predetermined distance above said axle in opposition to the force of gravity, means for rendering said fluid containing device ineffective, thereby causing a relatively rapid descent of said body toward said axle, and means for translating the downward motion of said bodv in o a cranking motion of said driving member.

12. In an engine starter for use in cranking the engine of an airplane or other automotive vehicle, in combination with a driving member adapted to engage and rotate a member of the engine to be started, compressible means operative to hold the body of .the vehicle at apredetermined distance above the ground engaging gear in opposition to the force of gravity, said force of gravity being operative upon removal of energy from said compressible means to produce downward motion of said compressible means and corresponding downward motion of the vehicle, and means for translating the resultant downward motion of the vehicle into a cranking motion of the driving member.

mm. B. DRAVER. 

